Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VI

NHC - NOAA ^ | 23 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Dangerous Hurricane Rita is expected to make landfall in the northeast Gulf of Mexico within 24 hours. Tornados have spawned in Louisiana. Water is filling the Ninth Ward of New Orleans again. A bus carrying elderly evacuees was gutted by fire this morning outside Dallas, with multiple fatalities. Television crews have positioned their hurricane reporters throughout the region to attain maximum drama effects. Whoooooa.

The following links are self-updating:

Public Advisory Currently published every 3 hours 5A, 8A, 11A, 2P, etc. ET
NHC Discussion Published every six hours 6A, 11A, 6P, 11P
Three Day Forecast Track
Five Day Forecast Track

Rita Forecast Track Archive
Forecast Models
Buoy Data Western Gulf of Mexico
Houston/Galveston/Beaumont/Lake Charles Wx Watches/Warnings
Jefferson Co TX NWS Weather
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Louisiana
Hi Res Houston Flood Zone Map Slow load, great detail

Images:

Lake Charles Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Lake Charles Experimental Radar Outages and Delays May Occur

Storm Floater IR Loop
GOM WV Loop
GOM IR Still Image
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop

Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)

KHOU-TV/DT Houston
KPRC-TV/DT Houston
KTRK-TV/DT Houston
KTRH-AM Houston
KPLC-TV/DT Lake Charles/Lafayette
KSLA-TV/DT Shreveport

Additional Resources:

FReeper Sign In Thread Check in to let us know whether you are staying, going, and when you get there
FReepers Offering Lodging To Rita Evacuees People and/or Pet Friendly FReepers Offering Shelter
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
KPLC Lake Charles Evac Routes, news
KFDM Beaumont/Port Arthur News, evac info
Hurricane City
Wxnation Houston
Galveston Webcams
Golden Triangle Weather Page Provides Galveston Weather, Warnings, Radar, etc.

Category	Wind Speed	Barometric Pressure	Storm Surge	Damage Potential
Tropical Depression	< 39 mph < 34 kts			Minimal
Tropical Storm	39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts			Minimal
Hurricane 1 (Weak)	74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts	28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more	4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m	Minimal damage to vegetation
Hurricane 2 (Moderate)	96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts	28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb	6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m	Moderate damage to houses
Hurricane 3 (Strong)	111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts	27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb	9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m	Extensive damage to small buildings
Hurricane 4 (Very strong)	131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts	27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb	13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m	Extreme structural damage
Hurricane 5 (Devastating)	Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts	Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb	Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m	Catastrophic building failures possible

Previous Threads:
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part V
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part IV
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part III
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[ValerieUSA]

I told someone this morning that was my theory for the bus explosion ... I felt mean saying it, but I remember my husband's elderly aunt on oxygen sneaking cigarettes in the bathroom. How she managed to eventually die without blowing up the house is a miracle.

[nevergore]

Yeah...but I've been to fish to drunk...

NeverGore :^)

[NautiNurse]

Heard a witness interview earlier state that one of the tires was on fire. Speculation it was sparks from the brakes. I have no doubt that oxygen caused the ultimate conflagration.

[milagro]

So sorry--Shep sure seems bummed that things aren't becoming as disastrous as he seemed to wish. Now he's talking about how the US flag has been thru some Cat 3's. GOOD GRIEF--where's Brit!

[LibertyRocks]

No problem... The live news feed can be accessed on this page: http://news.yahoo.com In the left hand column click on the link that says; Live Hurricane Rita Video

[mrsmel]

"Nobody taught 'er that it takes a lot of water,to wash away New Orleans"-Leon Everett. I guess they're learning now,that there's enough water,after all.

[milagro]

Rita, or Helen?

[blam]

"I think we have a verifiable pattern, eh?"

Yup. I'm thinking closer to Lake Charles than to Port Arthur...maybe right up the Sabine River.

BTW, There's a plaque on Dauphin Island marking it as the Capital of the Louisiana Terrorities in 1699.

[steveegg]

There's a new Tornado Watch until 6 am Saturday morning extending from coastal Alabama (including Mobile) through coastal/southern Mississippi (as far north as Hattiesburg) and through the southern half of Louisiana (as far north as Fort Polk). Currently, there are a couple of tornado warnings (I can't keep up with them; sorry).

[green iguana]

That should be margaRitas...

[CindyDawg]

Such a pretty "boy"

[Eaker]

I feel obligated to drink margaritas this weekend ... who is buying?

I was going to buy but my last Platinum card just blew out of my hand.........

[NYTexan]

Thank you Tom! That means a lot!

I'll keep ya posted!

You still in the Houston area now?

[hummingbird]

**whisper** (NautiNurse...how does one clean one's cache?)

[mwp99]

http://radar.weather.gov/radar/loop/DS.p19r0/si.klch.shtml

There's no eastward movement in the Lake Charles radar returns.

[ruoflaw]

I have been checking that volcano cam on and off since it became active last year.

[LibertyRocks]

Mr. Wilson who was just interviewed said they had fixed the first flat with the help of the DOT and they then heard another pop after they were underway again. He was going to correct himself on his re-telling and the dumb reporters interrupted with a different question so he was never able to fully relay what happened.

[steveegg]

Just what we don't need; a steaming Mt. St. Helens

[milagro]

ROTFLMAO!

[mewzilla]

Helen. We're still waiting for Rita to exhale, aren't we? :)